Trial By Error: The Crawley Chronicles, Continued
29 NOVEMBER 2017
By David Tuller, DrPH

Bristol University has an Esther Crawley problem. A week ago, I e-mailed Sue Paterson, Bristol’s director of legal services, asking her to clarify as soon as possible whether the university had sent me a cease and desist letter. Professor Crawley made such a claim in a November 17th talk at the University of Exeter, in response to my question about why she had accused me of libel and then refused to provide evidence that anything I wrote was in error. Her statement about this issue was clear and unambiguous: “You have been so unbelievably defamatory and unprofessional that I had to get my university to send you a cease and desist letter,” she said.

As I pointed out to Ms. Paterson, I have received no such letter. Since I cannot cease and desist anything if I don’t know what I am being asked to cease and desist from, I requested that she provide me with a copy of this letter immediately. I also asked her to explain, if no such letter actually existed, why Professor Crawley would make such an untrue statement.

When is the University Bristol going to reign in Prof Crawley, rather than just fudging the issue?

With her harrasment claims, Bristol University first say in response to the Tymes Trust freedom of information request there was no reported harrasment of their staff by third parties, but then after the fact rush to defend Crawley by claiming they have worked with her in relating to dealing with harrasment, but specify no details.

Now their legal Department when acknowledging there was no 'cease and desist' letter as claimed by Crawley, say "However you will be aware that the University of Bristol has for many years enjoyed a close and valued collaborative relationship with the University of California, Berkeley, and it is my understanding that private and confidential communication has taken place at a senior level about your actions and behaviour towards staff involved with research into chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis at the University of Bristol."

So an unnamed person at the University of Bristol communicated in an unspecified fashion with an unnamed person at the University of California raising unspecified issues in relation to David Tuller and by implication Esther Crawley, but this is private and confidential. Let's hope the unnamed person at the University of California returns a very unambiguous response to Bristol.

A few minutes after David posted the blog, and so it is not in the quote, he received a reply from the Legal Department of Bristol University.

He had just added this to be beginning of his blog:

Update: About 20 minutes after posting this blog, I received the following communication from Ms. Paterson:

Dear Dr Tuller

Thank you for your email of 22 November.

If by a ‘cease and desist’ letter you mean a letter threatening legal action if the recipient does not stop a specified activity or behaviour, then I can confirm that the University of Bristol has not sent you or your institution such a letter.

However you will be aware that the University of Bristol has for many years enjoyed a close and valued collaborative relationship with the University of California, Berkeley, and it is my understanding that private and confidential communication has taken place at a senior level about your actions and behaviour towards staff involved with research into chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis at the University of Bristol.

Sue Paterson says "it is my understanding that private and confidential communication has taken place at a senior level about your actions and behaviour towards staff involved with research into chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis at the University of Bristol."

Could David Tuller possibly ask Ms P. who exactly gave her to understand such a thing?

Sue Paterson says "it is my understanding that private and confidential communication has taken place at a senior level about your actions and behaviour towards staff involved with research into chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis at the University of Bristol."

Could David Tuller possibly ask Ms P. who exactly gave her to understand such a thing?

Click to expand...

Bloody 'ell...they are researching CFS ....AND ME!!!
I'd be encouraged if they even had the first clue about what any difference might imply.

Senior level...that would be £400k p.a. and above then....?
As an old mucker of mine used to say with a classic Oxford 'excent'...'good velew!'

Apologies to Countrygirl, wasn't meaning to denigrate Oxford graduates in any general sense ;-).
It does make one wonder which London market Crawley graduated from.